May 11 , 2010

BlackBerry, iPhone dominating Quebec market

Study shows Android a close third

According to a study released by the marketing agency Pheromone, 11.2% of Quebeckers own a smartphone, a 3G phone with a large screen and Wi-Fi Internet access that offers the ability to install external applications. The Quebec market is essentially concentrated on three technology platforms: recent Blackberry models from RIM that support 3G, with 39% of the market, Apple's iPhone, with 35% of the market, and smartphones based on the Google's Android system, with 26%. The study shows that the owners of these smartphones use them overwhelmingly to access the web (69%) and for social networking (53%).

Over 11% of Quebeckers already have a smartphone, less than two years since the launch of the first iPhone in Canada. This rapid adoption is prompting more and more companies to invest to reach consumers in these new mobile interactive spaces.

"Companies that are developing applications exclusively for the iPhone are reaching only 35% of their target market; the Blackberry and the Google Android represent the other 65%," Philippe Le Roux, president of Pheromone, said. "We think it's important to have an objective vision of the market to support our customers' strategic decisions, which is why we commissioned the study."

Pheromone had market research firm MBA Recherche ask questions from March 23 to 25 as part of an OmniMax poll conducted with 1000 Quebec Internet users twice a month. Their answers showed the current place smartphones occupy as well as the behaviour of their owners.

The study revealed that 4.3% of respondents have Blackberry 3G phones, 4% have iPhones and 2.9% have 3G phones with the Android operating system. When asked about their use of these devices, slightly more than two thirds of respondents revealed that they use them to access the web. Of the smartphone owners interviewed, 53% use them for social networking applications such as Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare. More than half of them (58%) do so daily.

"Quebeckers have adopted smartphones even faster than they adopted the Internet, which took a number of years before exceeding the 10% penetration mark," Philippe Le Roux said. "Smartphones with GPS functionality that enable geopositioning are becoming a powerful marketing tool for brands to reach consumers anywhere, at any time, including when they are shopping."

Pheromone (pheromone.ca/en) is a Montreal-based agency that helps organizations redefine their business models and marketing strategies around consumers' interactions. For the past 15 years, it has been amassing successes for its national and international clients and has a team of 70 experts whose passion and innovation are equalled by their professional maturity and experience.